Combination clothing



Feb. 5, 1957 FLACH 2,779,944

COMBINATION CLOTHING Filed April 12,1954

, FIGJ.

. INVENTOR.

PATRICIA KANE FLACH 46/ ATTOEA/EYJ' United States Patent Ofiice 2,779,944 Patented Feb. 5,-1957 COMBINATION CLOTHING Patricia Kane Flach, New York, N. Y. Application'April 12, 1954, Serial No. 422,597

1 Claim. (Cl. 2-85) This invention relates to clothing constructed to serve two functions and has particular reference to the enlargement of such clothing by the insertion of a removable panel therein.

It may be desirable in certain instances to modify the size of certain articles of apparel. A typical example often encountered is the necessity for providing women with enlarged garments for maternity wear. This condition has in the past required an entirely new wardrobe with its attendant economic disadvantages. In addition, while suitable garments are readily available for maternity wear, they normally are used for only a relatively short period and accordingly, are generally discarded before wearing out.

Furthermore, a straight coat, for example, may be suitably worn with one dress fashion while a full coat is preferably combined with another fashion. Again, it is burdensome to provide two full coats for these functions.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide wearing apparel that may be modified in size by selectively inserting a removable panel therein.

It is another object of the invention to provide for the enlargement of a normal coat by the selective insertion of a removable panel therein to adapt such coat for maternity wear.

These and further objects of the invention are accomplished by forming a panel carrying first fastening means. A garment that must be enlarged is constructed with second fastening means adapted to be selectively joined to the first fastening means so that the panel enlarges the garment in a desired manner.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a tapered panel adds fullness to a coat by being secured to fastening elements on the sides of the front opening thereof. The added fullness in the lower portions of the coat is ideal for maternity use.

The above-mentioned panel may be designed to be decorative by forming pleats therein or the panel may otherwise be modified to provide a pleasing effect when inserted in the wearing apparel which it has been cut to cooperate with. In addition, a pleated panel adds further fullness to the garment.

These and further objects and advantages of the invention will be more readily understood when the following description is read in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a coat and panel constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

Figure 2 illustrates the tapered panel that may be se' lectively inserted in the coat of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the coat illustrated in Figure 1 with the panel removed;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view greatly enlarged showing a typical fastener that may be used to close the coat illustrated in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a view in perspective of another form of tapered panel that may be .employed with the coat of Figure 1; and

Figure 6 is a partial view of a further panel illustrat ing a modified fastening arrangement employed therewith.

Referring to an illustrative embodiment of the'invention in greater detail with particular reference to Figures 1 to 4, a coat 10 is cut and formed from a desired fabric in any conventional manner. A plurality of buttons 11 and 12 are afiixed to the left and right sides, respectively, of the front opening of the coat 10. To provide for normal use of the coat 10 as shown in Figure 3, figure eight fastening elements 13, shown in enlarged form in Figure 4, join the buttons 11 and 12 to close the coat front.

If it becomes necessary to enlarge the coat 10 for maternity wear, for example, a tapered panel 14, shown in detail in Figure 2, may be easily joined to the coat 10. Thus, a plurality of loops 15 and 16 are fastened to the panel 14 or formed integral therewith and cooperate with the buttons 11 and 12, respectively, to enlarge and close the front opening of the coat 10 as shown in Figure 1. In addition, flaps 17 may be disposed on either side of the tapered panel 14 to provide a relatively weather tight fitting between the coat 10 and the panel 14.

In utilizing the coat 10 as shown in Figure l with the panel 14 in place, it may be opened by merely unfastening the loops 15 from the buttons 11, the panel 14 remaining in place.

It may be desirable to employ a pleated panel 18 as shown in Figure 5 in order to gain a greater amount of fullness in the coat 10 as well as obtaining a decorative effect. Since the panel 18 is similar to the panel 14, like elements thereof have been provided with the same reference numerals as those found on the panel 14.

It will be evident that various other types of fastening elements may be utilized to secure a desired removable enlarging panel to a garment. For example, in Figure 6 a portion of a tapered panel 19 is provided with button holes 20 to cooperate with the buttons normally found on the left hand front portion of womens coats while buttons 21 are secured to the panel 19 to cooperate with the button holes normally formed in the right hand front portion of womens coats. Furthermore, it will be apparent that the panel 19 can be cut and sewed with the button holes 20 and buttons 21 appropriately positioned to cooperate with several coats having their buttons and button holes in the same relative position on the front portion thereof.

The coat 10 may, if desired, be closed by means of a zipper. In this event, suitable zipper elements will be positioned on the tapered edges of the panels 14 or 18 to cooperate with the zipper elements found on the coat 10. This arrangement facilitates the rapid changeover of the coat 10.

By appropriately choosing contrasting fabrics for the garment and the removable panel cooperating therewith, many pleasing fashions may be obtained. Of course, a single coat can be employed with several panels having differing characteristics in order to match the other accessories worn at any particular time.

It will be understood that the above described embodiments of the invention are illustrative only and modifications thereof will occur to those skilled in the art. For example, various other fastening means than those referred to above may be employed to insert a panel into a garment, such as hooks and eyes or snaps, for example. In addition, the principles of the invention may be applied to dresses, skirts, short coats, and other similar articles of apparel. Therefore, the invention is not to be limited to the specific apparatus disclosed herein but is to be defined by the appended claim.

I claim:

In a combination coat suitable for maternity and normal wear, a body portion, a full length longitudinal front opening defined by edges of the body portion, an upwardly tapering panel having a length equal to that of the coat, a flap coextensive with each of the tapered edges of the panel and extending therefrom, the angle of divergence between the tapering edges of said panel being less than 35 degrees, first fastening means on the outer side of the body portion and spaced inwardly from the edges defining the front opening, second fastening means on the panel extending beyond the tapering edges of the panel and overlying the flaps, said first and second fastening means cooperating to removably secure said tapered panel in said front opening for maternity wear of the coat, the flaps engaging and extending beyond the inner side of the body portion edges to provide a substantially weather tight closure, sad panel when secured in position functioning as a part of the body portion and extending the entire length of the coat with its lower edge hanging evenly with and as a continuation of the lower edge of the body portion, and third fastening means cooperating with said first fastening means for removably securing the edges defining the front opening together for normal wear of the coat.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,297,159 Mohler Sept. 29, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS 506,013 Belgium Oct. 15, 1951 1,024,867 France Jan. 10, 1953 

